


The Lines That Bind Us

by realiztic



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Episode: S04e04 Aithusa, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-13
Updated: 2013-04-13
Packaged: 2017-12-08 08:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/759149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realiztic/pseuds/realiztic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What Merlin discovers at the Tomb of Ashkanar surpasses the legends, and sends him on a journey to find not only the last of the dragons but also the magic that links the hearts of his kin to his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lines That Bind Us

**Author's Note:**

> Some lines were taken from the aired episode and one of its deleted scenes. A spring shower of thanks to my beta [jesterlady](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jesterlady) for her invaluable help! This story would not have come into being without her insight and guidance. Finally, to my dear prompter -- that was one heck of a challenge! I hope you like it.

Merlin looked back at the four knights and the king. Their breathing had returned to normal; his healing magic had them safe for now. He walked back to the almost empty pot of stew and flung away the poultice with the ladle, frowning in disgust.

There was no doubt about it. After the failed attempt to shoot them down, Borden must have found a way to put the poultice in the stew – right under Merlin’s nose. This irritated the young warlock, but it was not the time to dwell on any emotions. Every second that passed, Borden was getting closer to the Tomb of Ashkanar. Closer to the dragon egg.

He had no need to bother with finding Borden’s trail. The tomb was in sight, and he only had to get there before Borden did. In the waning light of the day he ran. His thoughts ran along with him, all the important things that had been spoken of the night before.

He remembered the words of Iseldir. _The Triskelion is not just a key. It is also a trap._

He tried to think of what trap it might be, but there were too many possibilities. Whatever lay within the tomb was surely arranged by Ashkanar, a wise king with great foresight. It was only right that the Druids warned Merlin to be wary.

He remembered his last conversation with Arthur, before he fell asleep.

_I tell you, Merlin, don't start measuring yourself against a man who's dead. You'll never win._

_I know. He will always be better than me._

Merlin struggled to catch his breath. If only his father was alive now, he would know what to do. If only they had more time together, Balinor could have taught him…

His thoughts were interrupted as he came to a clearing. The tomb was right in front of him, a tower of aging stone. At the foot of the tower he could see Borden’s figure climbing up the wall. Merlin dashed off after him.

_I can only let you go so far, Julius Borden_.

 

He caught Borden just as the Triskelion fit perfectly into its place in the door.

“No!”

Borden gave Merlin a smug smile. As soon as he stepped into the doorway, white smoke blew from above, suffocating him.

_The trap_. Merlin quickly covered his nose and mouth with his jacket, and controlled the smoke with a spell. As soon as the fumes receded, he went up to the doorway and checked Borden’s condition. The man appeared to be unconscious. Still keeping a careful eye lest Borden woke up suddenly, Merlin picked up the torch and went on his way.

As he walked down the tomb’s passageways, he wondered if he had escaped the trap yet, or if there were more to come. No, Ashkanar would not be content with only a smoke-breathing gargoyle to guard his place of rest. There would be more. Merlin tried to focus on the dragon egg. How was he supposed to find it? Was it hidden in a box? Buried under the ground? Protected by an enchantment?

He navigated through the dark corridors until he came to a left turn. Pale daylight came in through a doorway. From there he walked up flight of steps leading to a great hall. The contents of the hall grew clearer as he got higher, and when he reached the topmost step Merlin felt like his heart would burst at the sight before him.

Hundreds of perfect teardrop shapes sitting on stone pedestals. No two were the same – one was deep red, another was black with golden specks, and yet another looked like the sunset sky in August. Merlin’s hand reached out to touch one when a maniacal laugh echoed into the hall, making him drop the torch.

It was Borden. Having regained consciousness, he had caught up without Merlin noticing. He had been struck dumb upon seeing the dragon eggs, but now the effects of surprise had worn off. His laughter went on and on, and Merlin thought that the man had gone mad.

“Twenty years. _Twenty years_ , ha!” He shouted at the top of his voice, without any respect for Ashkanar nor for the magical beings that still lay sleeping inside their shells. “All that I have gone through…” Tears were flowing from Borden’s eyes now, and he sat down on the steps, burying his face in his hands.

Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but Borden stood up again. He walked down the first line of pedestals, hands in his hair and eyes fixed on the dragon eggs. It was like watching a starved beggar walking into a feast: senses overwhelmed by the food, not knowing where to start.

“A single egg would have given me great riches, but this…” He rushed back to Merlin, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Just think. No king, living or dead, can rival the power and wealth these dragon eggs will give me.” He paused and then smiled. “With this bounty, I can afford to be generous. You gave me the key to the vaults, after all. You deserve a reward. Here.” He turned to take one of the eggs to give to Merlin, but Merlin grabbed him by the wrist and shoved him away from the pedestals.

“These dragons are not yours to take; neither are they tokens to be given as rewards.”

Shaken out of his reverie, Borden stared at Merlin with narrowed eyes. “How dare you speak to me like that! _I_ pieced together the Triskelion. _I_ found the path that led us here. And I _will_ do what I want with every single dragon in this tomb.”

“Do you not know what you are dealing with? They are creatures of magic, ancient and wise, able to burn a man down with one breath! Do you think they exist to serve a man like you?”

Borden snorted, picking up the torch from the floor. “You speak as if you are an authority on the Old Religion! You are but a serving boy. What could you possibly know?”

“I am the last dragonlord, and as long as I live you will never use these dragons for your sake!”

Borden’s eyes widened, and he raised the torch to strike Merlin.

As he did, his arm hit one of the eggs, knocking it off the pedestal. 

“No!”

Merlin held out his hand. The egg hovered inches away from the floor, kept from crashing by Merlin’s magic. The warlock pulled his hand back and the egg flew safely into his other hand.

Borden opened his mouth to speak, but dust started falling from the ceiling. The walls of the tomb rumbled, and stones started to crumble.

Borden ran towards the exit, but not before attempting to take one egg with him. Merlin flung him across the room and into a pillar.

He pulled himself to his feet. He could escape the tomb with the dragon egg in his hands, but he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the hundreds of others to be destroyed, to _die_. Still, there was no way for him to carry them all off by himself. Even if he tried to move them all by magic, he wouldn’t make it in time.

There was a loud splintering noise from above, and Merlin scrambled to the side just in time to avoid getting crushed by a section of the ceiling. Panic started to overcome him; his breathing became quick and shallow. _Please, we have to get out of here_. As he struggled to catch his breath, he opened his mouth and a dragon’s cry came out, ringing over the sound of quaking walls.

_Wake up!_

Immediately he could hear the sound of dragon eggs cracking. Tiny creatures poked their heads out of the shell.

Tears started forming in Merlin’s eyes, first in amazement, but quickly returning to panic. _Flee!_ _Get away from here! It’s not safe!_

He was answered by a multitude of dragon voices, and he could only watch as their owners stretched their wings and flew, clumsily, out of the tomb’s small windows.

When every pedestal had been vacated, Merlin rushed for the exit. And that’s when he realized that the egg in his arms had remained unchanged.

 

Merlin was able to get out just in time. He had held firmly but gently onto the precious egg in his arms, and tucked it safely in his pack just before Arthur and the knights arrived. 

_Nothing’s going to survive under all that_. That was what Leon said as they watched the tower fall into ruins completely. The line kept repeating in Merlin’s mind. Just a little more carelessness, just a little more interference from people who had no respect for magical creatures at all, and not one of the dragons would have survived. It was a very close call. The dragons were alive, but they were gone.

“You’re quiet.” Arthur sat down on a log a few feet from Merlin, interrupting his thoughts. Merlin only sighed and poked at the kindling with a branch.

Arthur crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t act like you haven’t eaten anything. We left you a portion of stew tonight.”

Merlin snorted and shook his head. _You did, barely_. “That wasn’t exactly a _generous_ helping, Sire.”

 “Are you _complaining_?”

A twig hit Merlin’s face. “Ow!”

“What’s the matter then? I thought you’d be happy to be on the way back to Camelot.”

“Of course I am,” Merlin replied, still rubbing his cheek. “It’s just that… the dragon egg…”

Arthur looked at his servant suspiciously. “You’re upset over the dragon egg?”

Merlin’s heart stood still for a second. His annoyance at Arthur had caused him to be careless. “No! No, I—It’s just that…” He chose his next words carefully. “Well, it’s not something you see every day, is it? If it were the last one in the world, I would have liked to see it.”

Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I won’t say I wasn’tcurious myself, but then I’m not here to satisfy my curiosity. My duty is to make sure that no dragon will come to harm Camelot again.” Then he looked grave. “And we’ve both seen what magical creatures can do. It would be better to stay away. We can’t trust them.”

_We can’t trust them._ A lump formed in Merlin’s throat.

The seriousness was gone from Arthur’s face now, and he was grinning. “Besides, you can’t even defend yourself properly in combat. I can’t imagine how you’d deal with a dragon.”

Merlin smiled in spite of himself.  _You’re right, Arthur. You can’t_.

 

Gaius had no doubt that Merlin would retrieve the dragon egg, or at least prevent Borden from harming it. When Arthur called for a council meeting as soon as they arrived back in Camelot, the physician expected a satisfied grin on Merlin’s face. But the boy seemed distracted from start to finish.

“Merlin, where is the dragon egg?”

For the first time since he arrived, Merlin smiled. He got up from the table and walked to his bag. “All the treasures in the world, they can’t compare to this, Gaius.” He brought it out, a perfect, pale blue teardrop.

“If the egg is safe, what is it that’s troubling you?”

Merlin’s gaze shifted back and forth, from Gaius to his bowl. “The legends were only partly true.”

“What do you mean?”

“It wasn’t the only egg, Gaius. There were _hundreds_ of them, hundreds…” Merlin’s voice broke.

Astonished, Gaius straightened his back. No wonder Merlin was so distraught. The physician took a deep breath. “What happened to the others?” he asked, fearing the worst.

In between gasps, Merlin recounted the story. “But this one, it didn’t hatch.” He kept his gaze down. “If I hadn’t been too quick to act, none of this would have ever happened.”

Merlin’s breathing remained raspy. Gaius got up and gave him water and a potion to relieve his nerves. When he calmed down, Gaius gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“There is no going back now, Merlin. But now that you have seen what foresight can keep safe for hundreds of years, you can begin considering your steps carefully before you take them.” 

Merlin nodded. He touched the egg with his fingers. “I wonder if this one’s still alright.”

“It is up to you to find out.”

 

******

 

Kilgharrah knew from the moment Merlin’s call broke the calmness in his mind. The dragonlord’s voice was desperate, panicked.

Something had gone wrong at the Tomb of Ashkanar.

As he neared the clearing where Merlin stood waiting, a pale blue figure came into sight. A ripple of delight stirred the Great Dragon’s heart as he swooped down on the damp grass. In front of him, resting on top of a tree stump, was the dragon egg of legend. He had lost all hope of meeting another dragon before Merlin came to him a few days ago.

“Is it still alive?”

“Dragon eggs can live for more than a thousand years.” Kilgharrah lowered his head for a closer look. “Now I am no longer the last of my kind.” He could not help but chuckle. He was thrilled beyond words; one could only try to imagine such joy for a dragon, whose emotions are ten times more intense than those of a human being.

The dragonlord did not seem to share his delight as much as he expected. The apprehension he had felt in the dragon call was evident in Merlin’s face. “When will it hatch?”

“Young dragons were called into the world by the dragonlords. Only they had the power to summon them from the egg. As the last dragonlord, this solemn duty falls to you, Merlin.”  
  
Kilgharrah looked quizzically at the young dragonlord. He was holding his breath, and appeared to be thinking deeply about something. Something that happened at the tomb. What was it?

“How do I summon it?”

“You must give the dragon a name.”

“A name.” Merlin fell silent, considering the situation very carefully. Kilgharrah stretched his neck and tousled his wings. By now he could hardly contain his bewilderment. He was tempted to ask what the matter was, but decided to wait.

At last Merlin’s expression became calm.

“Aithusa.”

The egg cracked, and both of them watched in amazement as a tiny white dragon came out.

“A white dragon is indeed a rare thing, and fitting. For in the dragon tongue, you named her after the light of the sun.” It had been ages since he last saw the birth of one of his kind, and Kilgharrah had quite forgotten the beauty of the process. They looked on as Aithusa continued to break her way out of the shell. Merlin was laughing and crying at the same time.

“No dragon birth is without meaning. Sometimes the meaning is hard to see, but this time I believe it is clear. The white dragon bodes hope for Albion.” Aithusa was standing up fully now, stretching her wings open and looking at Merlin with bright blue eyes. Merlin quickly wiped his tears and reached out to touch her on the head. The newborn dragon met his hand, and nuzzled against his fingers.

Merlin looked up at Kilgharrah. “What if… what if a dragon is born without being named?”

Kilgharrah shifted. “I have lived long enough to see the rise and fall of many kingdoms, but never have I heard of a dragon being born without a name.”

“At the Tomb of Ashkanar, Aithusa wasn’t the only one.”

The Great Dragon narrowed his eyes. Aithusa turned to him now, looking at him curiously.

“There were hundreds, Kilgharrah, in all shapes and colors. And Borden wanted to use them all.” Merlin told him how Borden had set off the trap. “I didn’t know how dragons are supposed to hatch. But the tomb was falling apart, and I… The next thing I knew, words were coming out of my mouth. Then every single one of them hatched, except for Aithusa.”

Kilgharrah looked at the newborn dragon, who was poking playfully at his legs. The golden color in his eyes burned a little more fiercely. “This has never happened before.” The intensity of his gaze made Merlin tense, but Aithusa didn’t seem to notice. “And what of the others?”

“They escaped. All of them. They flew out of the tomb. And now I don’t know where to find them.”

Kilgharrah stood quietly for a while. “If it is your call that woke them up, then it can only be your call that can bring them back.” He nudged Aithusa with his wing. “Come with me, child. If what this dragonlord says is true, you may be the odd one out of your peers, but that means extraordinary power lies within you as well.” He turned and took off, holding the still flightless Aithusa carefully in his claws.

There was a gust of air from Kilgharrah’s wings, and Merlin watched as the two dragons disappeared into the night sky. When he was finally alone, he closed his eyes. Gradually, his thoughts quieted down and the only thing he was aware of was his own breathing.

He’d never studied the dragon tongue. He couldn’t memorize a command like he would a spell, nor could he create sentences word by word in his mind. Only when he opened his mouth to speak would his thoughts be transformed into the language of dragons.

But now there was nothing. Not even the rumbling from within that usually preceded the words and the growls.

Nothing.

Merlin slumped down on the grass and pounded his fist onto the ground in frustration. He remembered Freya, and the familiar feeling of helplessness nagged at him. He had saved Arthur’s royal backside more times than he could count. Why couldn’t he do the same for magical creatures? Why couldn’t he, a dragonlord, call the very dragons he’d summoned to life?

He let himself fall to his back on the ground, and he looked up at the sprinkling of stars. Immediately exhaustion washed over him. Since the night Borden came to Gaius’s chambers, he hadn’t been able to get a good night’s sleep.

Maybe that was it, he thought. Maybe he was just tired. Maybe his magic needed some rekindling. Maybe he needed to get away by himself, some place far from the noise of Camelot…

_The place where magic began._

Balinor’s voice sounded in Merlin’s mind, startling him so much that he sat up. It couldn’t have been his imagination. As much as it boggled him, he was certain it was his father’s voice, telling him to go to the Crystal Cave.

He shuddered at the thought of entering that place again, but he knew there was not much choice. After burying the broken shell of the dragon egg, he made his way back to the castle. Even Kilgharrah couldn’t help him now. Only a dragonlord would know what to do, and the only other dragonlord he knew was dead. But if in the Valley of the Fallen Kings he had been able to meet a seer who had been dead for three hundred years, perhaps he could find a way to speak to his father.

 

“Arthur? Can I ask you something?”

Merlin filled Arthur’s goblet and stepped back into his position beside the table. It was a day after the search party’s return to Camelot, and Arthur had just finished his dinner.

“As long as it’s not about the dragon egg, which is finished business.” Arthur took a sip of water and nodded for Merlin to continue.

“Do you remember what I said about my father? You know, in the forest?”

“Yes. What about him?”

Looking at Arthur’s face, Merlin knew his king was listening and was genuinely concerned. Though he had lied to Arthur a thousand times, it never became less difficult. In fact, as time passed by and their friendship grew stronger, it became _more_ difficult.

“After passing that place again, I realized I’ve never had the chance to pay homage to him. I wasn’t even able to… to bury him, and I…” Merlin swallowed down the sob that was threatening to come out. The reality of his own words hit him like a punch to the stomach. He wasn’t telling Arthur the whole story, but what he had said was true all the same.

Arthur sat in silence for a moment. “You… want to go back and mourn him properly.”

Merlin nodded. _And ask for his guidance,_ he added in his mind.

 “Then let me come with you.”

“No!” he answered, startling Arthur. “I’d like to go there alone.”

The king regarded his servant carefully. Finally he spoke.

“What if you get into trouble? Run into bandits?”

“I can take care of myself, Arthur.”

“Really? You wouldn’t stand a chance against a fox, let alone an armed man.”

Merlin frowned. He started to say something, but shut his mouth before he could call Arthur one of the names that popped up in his mind.

“I could send one of the knights with you, you know.”

“I appreciate your concern, Sire, but this is something I must do alone.”

“Then at least take a sword with you.”

Merlin smiled. “Thank you.” He proceeded to clear the table, stacking the utensils on a tray. Before he left the room, Arthur spoke again.

“Merlin?”

“My lord?”

“Make sure you come back.”

“Of course I will.”

“Good, because I don’t want to trouble myself with finding another servant.”

 

******

 

Merlin stood at the mouth of the Crystal Cave. Before he left Gaius had warned him once more how treacherous the crystals were. But only when he felt the eeriness in the air did he remember how awful his last visit to this place had been.

He stepped inside, and walked deeper and deeper into the cave until he reached its center. It wasn’t about the crystals this time, but the chance of meeting someone from the past.

For a while he waited. Now that he was here, he realized he had no idea what to do next. There was no other living thing in sight, and he heard nothing but the low hum of the crystals. He sat down, cradling his head in his hands.

“Father. I need you. Only you can help me. Please, if you can hear me…”

“I can hear you.”

Merlin looked up and saw his father, bathed in the pale blue light of the crystals, walking towards him. Balinor stopped when they were only a few feet apart.

“I-is this a dream? Is that really you?” Merlin asked, rising to his feet.

“Does it really matter?” Balinor smiled. He motioned for Merlin to sit back down, and took a place on one of the rocks himself. “My son, what is it that you have come for?”

“It’s about the Tomb of Ashkanar.” Merlin told his father everything that had happened – about Borden, the Triskelion, the words of Iseldir, the destruction of the tomb, and, finally, the escape of hundreds of dragons.

“And there was one that didn’t hatch. I brought it back to Camelot. When I called Kilgharrah to come and meet me, he told me that I had to summon it. I named her Aithusa,” Merlin continued. “Kilgharrah took her to his cave. He seemed almost like a father,” he added, smiling.

“Now that I cannot imagine.” Balinor laughed. The image of a fatherly Kilgharrah was humorous enough, but Balinor’s laughter was contagious; Merlin found himself joining him. When both father and son calmed down, Merlin cleared his throat.

“I don’t really understand what’s happening, Father.”

Balinor looked at him. His dark eyes were somber now.

“Indeed, it was the dragonlords that called young dragons into this world. Commonly a dragon will only hatch from his egg once a dragonlord has given him a name. But we are kin, and our hearts are strung together. In a situation of great danger, in a matter of life and death, the cry of a dragonlord can break into the shell and reach the dragon inside.

But an unnamed dragon is like a lost child. Calling it will be difficult, because there will be nothing to call at all. Your dragon hearts are barely linked by a thread of magic. Without a name, a dragon will not be fully dragon. It may not learn how to speak, or fly, or breathe fire.”

“So that’s why I couldn’t call out to them when I tried.” Merlin sighed. “But is there still a way for me to find them?”

“Go to the Druids. They will be able to help you, with their knowledge on the ley of the land.”

“The ley of the land?”

“Magic does not work independently from the land, Merlin. It works with the land, runs through it. Just as the rain and the sun and human force affect the land, so can magic. The flow of energy is what the Druids call the ley of the land.”

“How can this help me?”

“You are looking for dragons, and they are creatures of magic. The paths they take as they roam the earth affect the ley of the land. A place where dragon paths cross increases in power, and the Druids would choose those places for holding celebrations and building structures.”

Merlin pondered on his father’s words for a moment. “So I would find them there?”

“If you stand where the ley lines cross, your link to the hearts of those dragons will become stronger. After all, it is those lines that bind us together.”

 

Following Balinor’s directions, Merlin was able to reach a small Druid settlement before dark. From afar, the Druids appeared to be finishing their dinner. Merlin moved towards the camp unnoticed, until an elderly woman looked up from the pot she was scraping. Her hazel eyes met his in surprise.

_Emrys_.

Merlin stopped. _I have come to seek your help._

The woman gestured for him to come nearer, and he did.

“There is enough left for one hungry warlock,” the woman said, emptying the contents of the pot into a bowl. She stuck a spoon in it and handed it to Merlin, smiling. “I am Deryn, matron of this camp. Sit first and eat. Then we will see if I can give you the help that you need.”

Merlin smiled back gratefully, taking the bowl. By the time he had licked it clean, which did not take very long, night had begun to fall. Deryn started a fire and sat down beside Merlin. She took the bowl from his hands, and passed it to a little girl who was gathering all the dishes in a basket.

“Tonight you are my guest, and you will do no washing,” Deryn said. “Now, tell me what it is you are looking for.”

“I wish to learn about the places where the ley lines cross.”

Deryn looked pensive. “Those places hold great power, but they are also sacred to us.”

“I know that the ley lines trace the path of dragons, and it is the dragons I seek.”

“Surely you are aware that there is only one that remains in this world.”

“But the legends about Ashkanar’s tomb are true, Deryn. The only thing that wasn’t said is that the tomb held not just one dragon, but a great number of them. The trap was set off, and the tower is in ruins now. But the dragons were awakened. They escaped. They’re alive, Deryn.”

Deryn’s face lit up. “Then the dragon race will continue to roam the earth for generations.” It felt strange, Merlin thought. Strange but good, to be around people who were actually glad about magical beings for a change. People who harbored neither fear nor malice towards them.

 “And who was it who called these dragons to life?” she asked. The knowing smile on her face told Merlin that he didn’t have to answer. She placed her hand on his shoulder. “Many great things have been prophesied about you, Emrys, and I consider myself fortunate to hear the fulfillment of even one of them.”

Merlin beamed, suddenly feeling both sheepish and fulfilled at the same time.

“But now it seems I can’t reach them anymore.”

“And that is why you are seeking for a way to connect to them,” Deryn finished for him. “We do not share this knowledge openly, but for your quest I will grant it to you.”

She turned to face him directly. “I will show you the Stones of Druantia. It is the place for our highest forms of worship, for there the ley is strongest. You will see the path in your mind’s eye. Concentrate, and you will remember.” She placed her hands on Merlin’s temples, and Merlin closed his eyes.

Images started to flood into his mind. They were so vivid that Merlin could almost hear the crackle of the forest floor, taste the water in the stream, feel the wind down the slope, and smell the grass in a wide, wide valley fringed by oak trees, with a circle of stones in the center.

The last image faded, Merlin opened his eyes.

“You have the secrets of the Druids and the dragons inside of you, Emrys. Guard them with great care.” Then Deryn pointed to a small tent not far away. “That is a shelter we built for anyone who might need it. Take all the rest that you can, and you can leave tomorrow at first light.”

 

******

 

A day and a half had passed since Merlin left the Druid camp. He made his way carefully down the slope. Stretching below him was the valley he saw in his mind’s eye. The blades of grass and the leaves on the oak trees glistened in the noontime sun, and in the distance he could make out a circular formation of rectangular stones.

As he drew nearer to the valley, he began to understand why the Druids kept the place so secret. The magical energy was so palpable that Merlin felt like he was wading through an invisible current; but at the same time, it was like a breath of fresh air to his lungs, lightening up his spirit.

Finally he reached the Stones of Druantia. He put down his pack and ran his hand across one of the stones. It was cool to his touch, unaffected by the heat of the sun.

Walking until he reached the center of the ring, he held up the pendant that hung on a cord around his neck. It bore no jewels or precious stones, only an intricate knot forming a circle. Deryn had given it to him in the early morning before he left the Druid camp.

_This is a symbol we call the Circle of Life, reminding us that all life is intertwined. It is important for Druid families. Members of a family share ornaments that bear this knot, for we believe it strengthens our bonds and our magic. Perhaps it will help link your heart to those of your kin._

Merlin lifted his gaze to the sky, his eyes glowing golden. A ball of fire appeared high above him, and slowly it drew lines in the air, turning and weaving until its path took the shape of the Circle of Life. The circle of fire hovered above the stones, burning bright even in the sunlight.

He closed his eyes. The intensity of magic made his skin tingle. If there ever was a place where he could call out to the dragons, it was here. Again, he quieted his thoughts until the only sounds he could hear were the crackling fire and the pounding of his heart. His dragon heart.

_Oh dragons, my siblings, hear my call._

 Merlin remained standing, eyes still closed. The call had been made; now he would have to wait.

After what seemed liked hours, a dragon’s cry pierced the silence. Merlin opened his eyes to see scores of dark specks in the sky, flying in from all directions – scattered at first, then falling into line, one behind the other. He watched in amazement as these lines met and the dragons moved into a formation exactly like that of the Circle of Life. The fluid movement of scale and wing and claw mirrored the stirring of flames.

Slowly the dragons began to descend. The first one flew through the middle of the circle of fire, quite impressively for a hatchling, but as it landed, it staggered headfirst on the ground with a muffled cry. The dragonlord instinctively stooped down to see if the hatchling was alright. Its scales shone like facets of emerald. When it straightened itself up and turned to Merlin, a tear fell from one of its eyes.

“Trahan.” The name spilled from Merlin’s lips. He touched the dragon gently on the head to pacify it, and to his surprise, it spoke.

“Thank you.”

Before Merlin could reply, another hatchling came swooping down beside them. It croaked and scuttled over to Trahan, wrapping the former with its sheer lilac wings.

Merlin couldn’t help but laugh. It was like a dragon embrace. A name instantly sprung into his mind.

“Halsen.”

The rest of the hatchlings followed, and Merlin named each one of them as they landed on the grass before him. He couldn’t fully understand how it worked, but as he laid eyes upon each dragon, a name came to him. He just knew.

 

******

 

The sun had set when the last hatchling was named. Only a sliver of the moon hung in the night sky, but the valley was illuminated by the circle of fire. The air was filled with the incessant flapping of wings and the chatter of young dragon voices. Merlin still could not believe it. Days ago he was distraught at the thought of Borden harming one dragon egg; but now hundreds of young dragons filled the valley as far as he could see.

There was only one missing now.

_Oh, Aithusa, come now with your guardian to the crossing of paths._

In a few moments two figures appeared in the night sky. The hatchlings scurried away as Kilgharrah landed just outside the Stones of Druantia. Aithusa flew over to where Merlin was standing.

“You can fly now!” Merlin cried. Aithusa alighted at his feet and only gave a yelp in response. The dragonlord looked over at Kilgharrah, who stood speechless amidst the young dragons who gathered curiously around him.

“Whoa, you are _enormous_!” It was Trahan’s voice.

Merlin laughed. “Settle down!”

Everyone became silent. Merlin closed his eyes briefly, and felt the presence of his father.

_Speak to them. They will listen to you_.

He opened his eyes and looked at the crowd of dragons, their attention fixed on him.

“This world was once safe for all creatures of magic, but now it is no longer so. Men have been taught to fear us, to detest us, to see us as means for their own ends. Make no mistake; there are still kind souls who accept us as we are, but there are even more who would try to hurt us and use our power. It is for your own safety that I give this command.”

The circle of fire raged as he spoke. “Keep away from humans, whether they wield magic or not. And until the day you die, you are not to harm the kingdom of Camelot.”

Across the valley, every dragon bowed his head.

“Now go and live, and we will see each other again.”

Kilgharrah was the first to rise into the air, and the hatchlings trailed after him. When they were out of sight, Merlin took away the circle of fire. He went back to his pack to get the apples he had brought, and when he sat down to eat, he saw Aithusa peeking from behind one of the stones.

“I told you to go,” he said sternly, but the white dragon only came closer and snuggled into his arm.

“Together,” she stammered.

“But just for tonight.”

Aithusa made a sound of agreement, and settled on Merlin’s lap.

That night, there was peaceful slumber for every dragon heart.

 


End file.
